


-h / 



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FOR THE 



From infancy to the age of seventeen, the means of 
education provided in this city by public munificence and 
private enterprise, are ample. From seventeen to the 
age when young men enter on the more active and 
responsible duties of their several stations, sufficient 
oppojT^nity does not appear to be afforded for mental 
and' moral cultivation. 

At this period of life, vrhen the mind is active and the 
passions urgent, and when the invitations to profitless 
amusements are strongest and most numerous, it is desir- 
able that means should be provided for furnishing at a 
cheap rate, and in an inviting form, such useful informa- 
tion as will not only add to the general intelligence of 
the young men referred to, but at the same time will 
prepare them to engage more understandingly, with a 
deeper interest, and with better prospect of success, in 
the pursuits to which their lives are- to be devoted. 

The existing deficiency of such means is clearly a sub- 
ject of regret ; and the undersigned are of opinion that 
this deficiency may be most easily and fully supplied by 
courses of Lectures delivered in different parts of the 
city, under the auspices of a Society, whose sanction 
may secure to the Lecturers employed, the confidence 
and resort of the public. 

It is prop<fsed that the first courses of Lectures should 
be given to those who are engaged in Trade and Com- 
merce; and that they should include the subjects of 
Universal Geography and Statistics, and of the Moral, 
Natural, Political and Legal Sciences, so far as they may 
be connected with commercial transactions. 

Should the attempt to convey such instruction be as 
successful as similar efforts in other cities have been, it 
is hoped that the Lectures may be made more general 
in their objects and in their application. . ^~r -- 



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v^V^ 



CONSTITUTION. 
I. 

This Association shall be called the Boston Sodet'i/ 
for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. And its object 
shall be to promote and direct popular education by lec- 
tures and other means. 

II. 

1. Any adult may become a member of this Society, 
with all the privileges thereof, by an annual payment of 
two dollars, and by signing this Constitution. Minors 
may become members, in so far as to have the right of 
attending the lectures, by signing the Constitution, and 
paying one dollar annually. 

Membership shall cease by neglect of paying the an- 
nual assessment. 

2. The payment of twentyfive dollars shall constitute 
membership for life, and immunity from all assessments. 

3. The payment of fifty dollars shall constitute a per- 
son ''Patron," shall exempt him from all assessments, 
and give the right of two tickets, one of which shall be 
transferable. 

4. Honorary members may be chosen by a majority 
of the votes of those present at any meeting of the Society. 

III. 

1. A meeting of the Society shall be held annually 
on the first Friday in April. 

2. Special meetings may be called by the President, 
when directed by the Board of Managers, or by the 
written request of ten members. 

IV. 

1. The officers of the Society shall be a President, 
two Vice Presidents, a Recording Secretary, a Corres- 
ponding Secretary, a Treasurer, and ten Directors ; who 
together shall constitute the Board of Managers. 

2. These officers shall be chosen by the written or 
printed ballots of a majority of the members present at 
the annual meeting ; and shall hold their offices until 
others are chosen. 



V. 

1. The President, or in his absence one of the Vice 
Presidents, or in their absence a President pro tempore, 
shall preside at all meetings of the Society and of the 
Board of Managers ; which shall be conducted agreeably 
to Parliamentary usage. 

2. The Recording Secretary shall notify all meetings 
of the Society, and of the Board of Managers, and shall 
keep a record of their proceedings. 

3. The Corresponding Secretary shall conduct the 
correspondence of the Society, under the superintend 
dence of the Board of Managers. 

4. The Treasurer shall collect and receive all dues, 
and donations in money ; pay all drafts on him when 
signed by the Recording Secretary, and countersigned 
by the President or either of the Vice Presidents ; and 
keep a regular account of the financial concerns of the 
Society, an abstract of which, with satisfactory vouchers, 
he shall exhibit at each annual meeting, and whenever 
called upon by the Board of Managers. He shall give 
such security for the faithful discharge of his trusts, as the 
Board may require. 

5. To the Managers shall be confided all the con- 
cerns of the Society, with authority to establish courses 
of Lectures, to appoint Lecturers, and fix the compensa- 
tion, the time and the place; and in general to devise 
and execute such measures as may best promote the 
objects of the Association. 

6. They shall exhibit the records of their proceedings 
at every meeting of the Society. They shall have power 
to fill vacancies in their Board from members of the So- 
ciety, and to make by-laws for its government. 

VI. 

This Constitution may be altered at any meeting of 
the Society, provided that public notice of an intended 
change is given one week previous to the meeting, and 
that two thirds of the members present approve the alter- 
ation. 



4 

OFFICERS OF THE SOCZSTIT. 

Hon. DANIEL WEBSTER, President. 

" JOHN PICKERING, ) ,.. ^ . . , 

* > Vice Presidents. 
" NATHAN HALE, ) 

JACOB BIGELOW, m. d. Cor. Secretary. 

HORATIO ROBINSON, m.d. Rec. Sechj. 

HENRY F. BAKER, Esq. Treasurer. 

Directors. 

Rev. WILLIAM E. CHANNING, 

SAMUEL T. ARMSTRONG, Esq. 
JOHN PARK, M.D. 
CHARLES C. NICHOLS, Esq. 
JOHN P. THORNDIKE, Esq. 
ABBOTT LAWRENCE, Esq. 
CHARLES G. LORING, Esq. 
WM. T. LORING, Esq. 
THOMAS B. CURTIS, Esq. 
CHANDLER ROBBINS, m.d. 

XiECTURERS FOR THE FRESE27T SEAS02T. 

Hon. DANIEL WEBSTER, 
„ EDWARD EVERETT, 
WALTER CHANNING, m.d. 
FRANCIS LIEBER, p.d. 
Rev. ALONZO POTTER, 
JOHN PARK, M.D. 
CHANDLER ROBBINS, m.d. 
Hon. WILLIAM SULLIVAN, 
„ JOHN PICKERING. 



Mtn^iEo^ieiB© (£>w WMm ^^(^nmmiQ 



Samuel T. Armstrong 
A. B. Alcott 
Amos Atkinson 
Samuel Austin 
Jonathan Amory 
William P. Andrews 
John R. Adan 
Charles Arnold 
James Andrews 
Ripley P. Adams 
George W. Armstrong 
John Ashton 
Z. B. Adams 
Abel Adams 
Horatio Alger 



John Belknap 
Joseph P. Bradlee 
Joseph D. Bates 
W. H. Bordman 
W. B. Bradford, Jr, 

E. Bailey 
Charles Brown 
J. Bellows 
Charles P. Butler 
Joseph Balch 
Benjamin Bangs 

F. H. Bradlee 
Charles Brown 
Samuel K. Bayley 
William G. Brooks 
E. Blanchard, Jr 
J. T. Brigham 



James Bowdoin 
H. F. Baker 
George Bond 
Edward Brooks 
Jacob Bigelow 
Joseph Baker 
Martin Brimmer 
Josiah Bradlee 
N. A. Barrett 
N. I. Bowditch 
Edward Blake 
Francis Bassett 
A. P. Baker 
E. R. Broaders 
S. F. Barry 
Samuel P. Blake 
J. S. Barbour 
Benjamin Balch 



William E. Channing 
T. B. Curtis 
C. P. Curtis 
Walter Channing 

A. Cunningham, Jr 
C. Cunningham 
George B. Carey 

B. C. Clark 

C. W. Cartwright 
H. G. Chapman 
Lot Clarke 

J. Codman, Jr 
J. CoUamore, Jr 
Jonathan Chapman, Jr 
John Capen 
Samuel Coverly, Jr 



Isaac P. Davis 
P. R. Dalton 
E. G. Davis 
Franklin Dexter 
S. H. Davis 
Lorenzo Draper 
J. Danforth 
J. Davis 
J. A. Davis 
Daniel Draper 
J. C. Dunn 
E. H. Derby 
John Dall 
S. E. Dvvi^ht 
W. T. H. Duncan 
John Doggett Jr 
S. Doggett 3d 
George Darracott 
Daniel Dunlap 
Stephen A. Dix 



J. F. Flagg 

C. W. Foster 

S. Fales 

James Fessenden 

Lincoln & Fessenden 

Augustus H. Fiske 

Ebenezer B. Foster 



John L. Gardner 
Ozias Goodwin 
William H. Gardner 
F. F. Grundy 
Samuel Goodridge 
S. H. Gibbens 
Henry Gelston 
William P. Gragg 
John Gardner 
John B. Glover 



George B. Emerson 
George S. Eaton 
N. H. Emmons 
J. Eveleth 
Oliver Eldridge 
James Ellison 
William J. Eaton 
William H. Ellis 



Samuel H. Foster 

H. H. Fuller 

G. W. Frothingham 

James Fessenden 

J. FuUerton 

N. L. Frothingham 



Nathan Hale 
Enoch Hale 
Daniel Hammond 
W. Hales 
C. J. Hendee 
George Hallett 
E. A. Homer 
E. Hathaway 
William Hayden 
J. C. Howard 
E. L. Hunt 
A. Hewes, Jr 
Jabez Hatch, Jr 
Prince Hawes 
James Hayward 



James Jackson 
J. B. Joy 
F. Jenks 
Jared B. Joy 



Jeremiah Kahler 
Henry W. Kinsman 
Abel Kendall, Jr 



Charles Lowell 
Abbott Lawrence 
William J. Loring 

C. G. Loring 
J. Lowell, Jr 
David Low 
Thomas Lamb 
F. Lieber 

E. G. Loring 
J. C. Lee 
M. Lord 
J. H. Leeds 
B. Lincoln, Jr 
S. J. Littlehale 
W. Lewis, Jr 

D. Lane 
Caleb Loring 

E. Loring 

J. Livermore 
H. Lee 
John Leverett 
David Low Jr 



William P. Mason 

B. Muzzy 

R. W. MofFatt 



D. L. Mayo 
James Means 
James Mc Gregor 
N. Meriam 
Thomas Motley 
James K. Mills 
Charles H. Mills 



C. C. Nichols 
Thaddeus Nichols 
W. J. Niles 



George W. Otis, Jr 
John P. Osgood 



John Pickering 
John Park 

B. T. Pickman 
E. D. Peters 
E. Payne 

W. Phillips 
Thomas C. Park 
David Patterson 
Theodore P. Baker 
S. G. Perkins 
J. Pickens 
George W. Pratt 

C. T. Parsons 
John G. Palfrey 
Kilby Page 
Lemuel Pope 
J. F. Priest 
William Perkins 
E. Pickering 



8 



John C. Park 
Nathaniel Peabody 
Josiah duincy, Jr 
William Russell 
Chandler Robbins, Jr 
James Russell 
H. Robinson 

B. T. Reed, Jr 
Henry Rice 
Jeffrey Richardson 
James Richards 
Robert Rogerson 
J. H. Robbins 
John Rayner 
Jacob Rhoades 
William Sullivan 
William Sturgis 

J. Greely Stevenson 
George H. Snelling 
Samuel Swett 
Norman Seaver 
S. E. Sewall 

C. Stoddard 
W. B. Swett 
Melancthon Smith 
George Seaver 
Frank Stanton 

T. H. Swett 
Edward Stevens 
George A. Sampson 
S. Stearns 
Thomas Searle 
Charles Seaver 
Bela Stoddard 
James F. Thorndike 
John H. Thorndike 
J. P. Thorndike 
J. Thorndike, Jr 
a. D. Tucker 



S. C. Thwing 
George Ticknor 
G. F. Thayer 
J. Thayer 
N. F. Thayer 
C. C. C. Tucker 
William C. Tyler 
Joseph Tilden 
Henry J. Tuckerman 
Daniel Webster 
Edward Wigglesworth 
C. T. Ward 
T. Wetmore 
Thomas Wigglesworth 
Pelham Winslow 
W. W. Wheelwright 
S. Wheelwright 
W. P. Winchester 
Lot Wheelwright, Jr 
Gardner Wheelwright 
Benjamin Whitman 
Caleb S. Whitman 
John H. Whittemore 
Henry Winsor 
B. N. Watson 
Edgar T. C. Whitaker 
J. D. Williams 
Daniel Wheelwright 
W. R. P. Washburn 
H. Wainwright 
Charles Wells 
George A. Woods 
James C. Wild 
Joseph Whitney 
W. S. Willis 
Robert Wales 
Thomas B. Wales 
Thomas B. Wales Jr 
Arthur Wilkinson. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



029 920 780 8 



